Freedom of Speech for All, Except for Jewish Influencers

When Jews scrolled through their phones on October 7, we saw such horrific videos of hate that some of us wished we could simply press a magic button and permanently erase those atrocities from our memories. 

The first thought that ran through my mind was, “How can such evil exist in the world?” The second thought was, “Do I post about this?”

I have been a social media influencer for the past 12 years, mostly posting about fashion, mental health, and being your most authentic self, and I proudly address being Jewish in many of my posts. The name on my Instagram handle even includes my Hebrew name, Chaya, in it. Yet, I’ve often avoided posting about news related to Israel because I was always aware of the heated and hostile nature of social media posts and comments against the world’s only Jewish state. 

My parents fled from Iran during the 1979 revolution because it wasn’t safe to exist there as Jews. From childhood, I grew up engrained with a simple lesson: There are people and places in this world that don’t like Jews. 

But that was then. And this is now. We have progressed so much as mankind. Things should be different, no?

Many of my 79,600 followers (down from 81,000 since I began posting about Israel) are not Jewish. I have always been conscious about that when sharing anything about Jews on my page, making sure whatever message I’m relaying can universally relate to people of all different backgrounds. I vowed to continue with that awareness when posting about Israel.  

My first post in response to October 7 was one explaining to my non-Jewish followers how what was happening in Israel was not only terrifying for Israelis, but for every Jew around the world. Most Jews quickly understood that Israel’s response to Hamas’ barbarism would immediately result in an exponential increase in antisemitism. 

And while I’ve always been proud to call my Instagram page a safe space filled with love and positive comments from followers, I noticed how quickly that changed the moment I publicly mentioned Israel. Comments included, “I hope you all burn in hell” “You’re disgusting,” and “Ew, I didn’t know you were Jewish — UNFOLLOW” (a shout out to the algorithm on that last one for finally boosting my post to all my followers).

No matter how compassionate, universally welcoming, or politically correct I strived to be with every word I typed and every post I wrote, I realized that for many who didn’t know me personally, it didn’t matter. The fact that I was Jewish or cared about Israel was enough to make me a villain.

No matter how compassionate, universally welcoming, or politically correct I strived to be with every word I typed and every post I wrote, I realized that for many who didn’t know me personally, it didn’t matter. The fact that I was Jewish or cared about Israel was enough to make me a villain.

There was one comment in particular that stood out. One morning, a young woman blasted my notifications with angry comments on every single one of my Israel posts. In one comment, she claimed that Israel and the Jewish people are the “next coming of Hitler and the Holocaust.” 

How can someone spew such hateful words? I wondered who this person was, so I clicked on her Instagram page. I want to describe her to readers: If there was ever a unicorn in human form, she was it. This young, bubbly woman posted photos of herself wearing unique rainbow outfits and sporting hot- pink bubblegum hair. 

On the surface, she seemed like someone whom I could have called a friend, given my own passion for rainbows and everything colorful. Scrolling through her Instagram, I was saddened to imagine that at possibly any other time, she and I may have bonded. But that would have meant I would have had to deny my entire being as a Jew. And now, because she had learned I am Jewish, I was persona non grata in her otherwise sparkly eyes. 

Right now, Diaspora Jews are in living in two alarming worlds. One, the physical world, includes feeling terrified to walk down Pico Boulevard to pick up food from our favorite Kosher restaurant, for example. The second, the one more immediate, more accessible, and sometimes even more volatile fear—is the social media world.

It’s disheartening to see just how much hate can exist in both worlds. But despite the anger, the hate and the fear, I know that I, and all Jews around the world are speaking up louder than ever before because we are the Jewish people and we will NEVER let hate defeat us.

May Hashem grant us a swift victory against all those who want to tear us down. May the world soon come to honor us, instead of hate us, for simply being Jewish, and may we one day read a headline that states, “It’s Finally Safe to be a Jewish Influencer on the Internet.”

Elaine Chaya is a writer, speaker, and digital content creator who talks about societal pressures and empowers people to authentically be themselves. Find her on Instagram @elainechaya